White supremacist Richard Spencer continues his quest to expand his ill-received collegiate speaking tour
In the aftermath of white nationalist and alt-right provocateur Richard Spencer鈥檚 shouted-down appearance at the University of Florida in Gainesville on October 19, a lawsuit seeking to force Michigan State University to allow Spencer to speak on its campus continues to work its way through federal court.
Cameron Padgett, a 29-year-old Georgia State University graduate student, has been attempting to book Spencer to speak at campuses across the nation. Some, like the University of Florida, have reluctantly agreed; those public universities that are resisting Spencer鈥檚 sanctioned presence 鈥� after incidents of violence at Spencer appearances like Charlottesville, where Heather Heyer was killed by a white supremacist, and Gainesville, where racists fired a gun at anti-Spencer protesters 鈥� have faced lawsuits and threats of lawsuits from Padgett and his self-proclaimed 鈥渁lt-right鈥� lawyer Kyle Bristow.
Padgett was after it denied Padgett鈥檚 request for Spencer to speak (for this action, Padgett enlisted former Ku Klux Klan attorney and longtime outspoken racist Sam Dickson as his litigator). Padgett was awarded a $29,000 settlement from Auburn, and the university was forced to allow Padgett to speak on April 18.
The litigation against Michigan State has not gone as smoothly for Padgett and his second attorney, Bristow. Michigan State argued, 鈥淭he decision [to deny Padgett鈥檚 request for Spencer to speak at MSU] was made due to significant concerns about public safety in the wake of the tragic violence in Charlottesville. While we remain firm in our commitment to freedom of expression, our first obligation is to the safety and security of our students and community.鈥�
At a pre-motion conference on Friday, November 3, District Court Judge Janet T. Neff chided both Padgett鈥檚 attorney Bristow and Michigan State鈥檚 attorneys for name-calling in their motions, , the university鈥檚 student newspaper.
鈥淭hat kind of language is inflammatory and derogatory and really has no place in [court] proceedings,鈥� the judge said. 鈥淚 just am not going to tolerate it.鈥�
Judge Neff then ordered Padgett to choose a mediator for the dispute by November 17, , in an attempt to get the parties to reach an agreement outside of court.
Michigan State鈥檚 board of trustees was also removed as a defendant in the lawsuit; Michigan State University president Lou Anna Simon remains a defendant.
Bristow claims Padgett鈥檚 First Amendment rights are violated by Michigan State鈥檚 refusal to allow Spencer to speak on campus, and he鈥檚 asking for an injunction allowing Spencer to appear there, with Michigan State paying all security costs, along with more than $75,000 in damages.
At the University of Florida in Gainesville, where Spencer spoke on October 19 after Padgett negotiated his appearance there, , and Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency prior to Spencer鈥檚 appearance.
Three Spencer supporters were arrested for attempted murder after Spencer鈥檚 speech. Local police said they heckled anti-Spencer protesters with Hitler chants and Nazi salutes before firing a gunshot that missed the protesters, .
The Gainesville appearance wasn鈥檛 exactly a success for Spencer. The majority of attendees booed and heckled Spencer throughout his speech, and at the end, Padgett lost his temper too, screaming, 鈥淵鈥檃ll aren鈥檛 tolerant. Y鈥檃ll aren鈥檛 anything! Y鈥檃ll are full of shit! You all are acting like animals and the communist antifa that you are!鈥�
Despite their apparent humiliation in Gainesville, Padgett and Spencer are continuing to book college appearances, and sue the universities who resist. In late October, Bristow filed lawsuits and after both denied Padgett鈥檚 requests to book Spencer.
Meanwhile, the University of Cincinnati and the University of Michigan have . The University of Cincinnati鈥檚 board of trustees voted to allow Spencer to speak on campus, , 鈥淔or higher education to maintain its pride of place as the marketplace of ideas, we have a responsibility as teachers, scholars, learners and trustees to drive out bad ideas with better ones,鈥� adding, 鈥淗ate has no place on our campus or in our world.鈥� Spencer鈥檚 appearance at the University of Cincinnati is expected to happen early next year, .
The University of Michigan hasn鈥檛 made a decision on allowing Spencer to speak on campus, but Bristow, Padgett鈥檚 attorney, , 鈥淚 will not hesitate to sue UM.鈥�
Spencer recently suffered another setback unrelated to his college speaking tour. The company that operates the federally owned Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., rejected a request for Spencer to host a November 19 conference there for the National Policy Institute, the white supremacist 鈥渢hink-tank鈥� he heads.
At this time, we have not been able to secure assurance from law enforcement authorities that adequate security can be provided through reasonable measures to protect against the significant risk of violence and injuries posed to event attendees, our clients, tenants, employees and the general public as well as damage to the property," the operator of the federal building told Hatewatch.
No word yet whether Spencer plans to sue the General Services Administration, the U.S. government agency which owns the Reagan Building and International Trade Center. Stay tuned.
